Friday, April 28, 2017

UPDATE III: "For nearly a century, American presidents have played an important, if informal, role in our politics as the leader of their parties. But nearly 100 days into his term, President Trump not only has failed to provide Republicans with skilled leadership, but also seems unaware that he’s even supposed to do so. This failure could doom his presidency before it even really begins. . .

Absence of political leadership is particularly damaging to the modern Republican Party because of the intense and deep fissures running through it. The GOP was bitterly divided into at least four factions prior to Trump’s emergence, and their civil war had waged since at least the 2010 primaries. None of the existing party leaders has the stature, power or credibility to unite this group into a cohesive majority. The president’s failure to step into this fray simply makes the divisions harder to heal.

Trump was elected to change Washington and 'drain the swamp.' Our modern system won’t allow him to do that without first wading deep into the murky waters himself to corral the alligators. If the president does that by the summer months, he might yet begin to fulfill his promises and move the nation in a new direction. But if he doesn’t, he may find the swamp will have drained his power and authority by the time Congress reconvenes in the fall."

In other words, The Donald doesn't have the leadership skills to get the job done.

UPDATE II: "Unless he can summon a miracle, President Trump is going to reach 100 days in office without getting anything on his wish list through Congress. And the fact we're measuring his failures by this timetable is largely his fault. . .

Even the stuff Trump can do on his own — executive orders — have hit quicksand. His most significant executive orders, a travel ban and pressure on sanctuary cities, are stuck in the courts.

Trump has about exhausted his unilateral power. The rest of his agenda needs Congress to get done.

No president — no matter how much of a dealmaker — can force Congress to pass bills. But Trump set himself up for failure in a way past presidents never have. He promised to get his priorities through Congress in a matter of months.

That was an amateur move, says pretty much anyone who knows anything about Congress. Major legislation doesn't happen in increments of weeks or months. It happens in years: Medicare, gun reform, Obamacare. These things took years, if not decades.

'He didn't grasp the reality of legislating,' [Steve Bell, a former GOP Senate budget aide now with the Bipartisan Policy Institute] said. 'It takes a lot of time.'

The fact Trump would make promises like that also suggests he doesn't have a lot of people around him who understand Congress. And that's to Trump's disadvantage on any day of his administration."

UPDATE: "In the outpouring of commentary on President Trump’s first 100 days in office, his greatest single achievement is almost never mentioned, which is itself a sign of what a major triumph it is: We are not talking much about whether Russia colluded with Trump’s campaign to help elect him."

"'The Simpsons,' of course, famously predicted a Trump presidency in an episode aired in 2000. The real estate mogul seemed to be the right comedic fit at the time, episode writer Dan Greaney told The Washington Post’s Michael Cavna. They needed a celebrity name that would sound slyly absurdist.

'He seems like a ‘Simpsons’-esque figure — he fits right in there, in an over-the-top way,' Greaney said. . .
[But] in the first show to air after Trump’s victory, 'The Simpsons' writers expressed their regret.

In the opening credits, which change every episode, Bart Simpson grimaced as he wrote on the blackboard: 'BEING RIGHT SUCKS.'"

And on Sunday, 'The Simpsons' will celebrate some of The Donalds many accomplishments after 100 days in office, such as: "lowering his golf handicap and increasing his Twitter following by 700.

'And finally we can shoot hibernating bears. My boys will love that,' the Trump character says. His wig reveals itself to be a small dog."

"Republicans tend to be more skeptical of the size of government when Democrats are in power.

But even more than that is Trump's rhetoric. While other Republicans will at least talk a good game about shrinking government, he hasn't really bothered; instead he has talked about a $1 trillion infrastructure plan and increasing government borrowing while borrowing is cheap. He gave lip service to balancing the budget as president, but as with many Trump goals, it has quickly gone by the wayside. The White House isn't even pretending that is still a goal.

And Trump's affinity for big government may be one of the truly big paradigm shifts of his presidency. He has taken in a GOP that got religion on the size of government during the Obama administration and is anxious to see what Trump's brand of populist big government can do for it -- the national debt apparently be damned."

UPDATE II: "President Trump on Wednesday said he would not label China a currency manipulator, contradicting one of the biggest economic promises he made on the campaign trail.

Trump told the Wall Street Journal that he had changed his mind because China is not currently manipulating its currency, adding that he hoped to enlist China’s help on containing the nuclear threat from North Korea."

UPDATE: "President Trump, who made
opposition to free trade with China and other countries a centerpiece of
his campaign and has continued with tough talk since entering office,
is struggling to enact policies that match his trade rhetoric. . .

[W]hile
Trump has called China “grand champions” of currency manipulation as
recently as February, three people familiar with the discussions say it
did not appear likely that the Treasury Department would officially
designate China in its semiannual foreign currency report due Saturday. .
.

Trump had promised to label China a “currency
manipulator” on his first day in office, but his administration has
moved slowly to follow through on many of his trade-related threats. . .

Ahead
of that meeting, Trump had warned of a 'very difficult' discussion “in
which we can no longer have massive trade deficits and job losses.” Yet
the meeting ended with the White House announcing a '100-day plan' to
review the U.S. trade relationship with China. . .

Beyond
China, the White House has also missed an internal mid-March deadline
to begin renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement with
Mexico and Canada, as a draft letter that would begin the process has
not been formally signed.

It also announced a mix of
other relatively minor or technical measures to strengthen U.S. trade
protections, but experts say those won't do much to benefit U.S.
industry unless they're followed by far more substantial action. . .

On trade, the White House has launched numerous reviews but so far done little to change policy."

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